Two members of anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot embraced each other Tuesday as they reunited in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, a day after they walked out of separate prisons under a Russian amnesty. Duration: 00:32

Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/U8Ys7nNadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the punk band Pussy Riot, was pardoned and released from prison. She said the amnesty was a show and called for a boycott of the coming Olympics in Russia.Read the story here: http://nyti.ms/1cvYIoJ

Today is the 65th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; approved by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948. This remarkable document affirms the basic freedoms of all people, including speech, assembly, association, and worship.

Last year on this date I reflected on the legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt, who was one of the prime movers behind the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today, I remember her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who gave one of the most significant speeches in U.S. history on January 6, 1941. In what would become known as the “Four Freedoms” speech President Roosevelt asserted, “We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and of expression — everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want ... everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear ... anywhere in the world."

Though these concepts are hardly new in our day, they were extremely controversial in Roosevelt’s time as the U.S. had yet to enter World War II. The president faced enormous domestic pressure to stay out of the conflict in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Roosevelt maintained that a peaceful, secure, democratic world in which individuals would enjoy fundamental human rights would be a boon not only for Americans, but for all people, and that these freedoms were worth fighting for. Though President Roosevelt was not alive when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed, I have no doubt that Eleanor and others remembered him and the rights he laid out in the “Four Freedoms” speech while they crafted it.

I have been honored to meet and speak with defenders of the “Four Freedoms” around the world. They are lawyers defending those on trial or jailed for political reasons. They are journalists and bloggers drawing attention to government waste and fraud. They are individuals who volunteer their time to lift up those who are hurting or in need. They are activists who defend the rights of all citizens to love whomever they wish without fear of retribution. They are those who defend the right of all citizens to choose their own religion and to worship in an environment free of fear. I admire the courage of those in Russia, in America, and worldwide who take on the, often thankless, responsibility of defending the rights and freedoms I truly believe are universal and inalienable.

Today I thank those who have gone before, those currently involved in the struggle for human rights, and those just picking up the mantle. It is not an easy thing to do, and I respect all who have made it part of their lives. I have said before that no country has a perfect track record when it comes to human rights. Yet I don’t think that should prevent any nation or individual from striving for the ideals that President Roosevelt envisioned and Eleanor Roosevelt put to paper; to uphold the fundamental rights of everyone – everywhere in the world.

As climate change renders the Arctic increasingly accessible, there has been a substantial uptick in industry interest in the region; it is believed an estimated $100 billion could be invested in the Arctic over the next decade.The Arctic contains vast oil and natural gas reserves - the U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic could contain 1,670 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas and 90 billion barrels of oil, or 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered gas and 13 percent of oil.

A Yekaterinburg court on Tuesday dismissed one of the four charges facing Aksana Panova, the former editor-in-chief of the Ura.ru news agency, after investigators failed to prove that a crime had taken place.

Dan Kaszeta is a chemical weapons expert, but he has also spent many years of his life studying Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Bloc. He raises many good points about the deep internal divisions within Ukrainian society. As Ukraine is now in the midst of its second period of major popular unrest in less than 10 years, his warning that a civil war is not out of the realm of possibility should be seriously considered. — Ed.

Recent dramatic demonstrations in Kiev have highlighted Ukraine’s tenuous position on the exact fault line between Russia and the European Union (EU). The current political situation has developed from the Ukrainian’s decision not to sign an association agreement with the EU. But today’s troubles are only a hint of much deep-seated angst.

The questions of Ukraine’s place in the world and its place in Europe are actually resting on an unsure foundation – the nature of Ukraine itself. What the world considers the borders of Ukraine to be today date only from 1954. What is and isn’t included in Ukraine, and where it begins and ends, has been a matter for debate and conflict for centuries. Measured along every important axis – ethnicity, language, religion, history and (even more importantly) perceptions of history and economics – modern Ukraine is a seriously divided place. Christian Orthodoxy in Ukraine is split into factions that have excommunicated each other. The view of the last century or so of history is particularly telling. Ask Ukrainians the following questions: Is Stepan Bandera (an anti-communist rebel) a hero or a villain? What caused the terrible famine in the 1930s? Was the end of World War II a liberation or a prison sentence? What church do you belong to and what does it think of the other Ukrainian churches? The scope and variety of answers that you will get will show you a country that disagrees on many things.

Ukraine could be easily considered five countries in one. Eastern Ukraine is heavily Russianized and looks as much to Moscow as to Kiev. Western Ukraine, including the historic region of Galicia, was part of central European empires, like the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Hapsburg Empire, and the interwar Polish Republic. Its churches look to Rome at least as much as to the multiple and divided Orthodox patriarchs further east. Uzhhorod, in Western Ukraine, lies further west than 7 of the EU’s capital cities. Central Ukraine, the area around the capital Kiev, is an uneasy mix of both. Crimea has a distinct identity unto itself, and has only been part of Ukraine since a Soviet-era administrative decision in 1954. Crimea even voted for independence from Ukraine in 1992. Odessa is a polyglot multicultural city state like medieval Venice that is really its own thing entirely. The forces holding Ukraine together may not be up to the long-term task of keeping a viable state within the current boundaries.

Countries with such diversity can stay together. But they often don’t. What will happen? The best case outcome is a western-oriented peaceful democratic Ukraine, integrated into the European mainstream. The more likely outcome is decades of continuing muddle between east and west, much as in the last twenty years. But I am most worried about the worst-case scenario, a situation that few want to talk about. Civil war. Some observers felt the risk during the ‘Orange Revolution’ in 2004. The fault-lines that run through Ukraine are easily as serious as those in the former Yugoslavia, and we all know how that ended. It would only take one serious provocation for things to go badly wrong in Ukraine. Civil war in Ukraine would be terrible in its own right, but would be even worse because of the potential for dragging Russia into it. The 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict shows that Russia is not afraid of using armed force to carve regions off of its neighbours, such as Abkhazia, even ones nominally aligned with the west.

Perhaps the best thing Ukraine and the world could do to avert such a disaster is to manage a split pre-emptively, before anyone gets hurt. Perhaps we should acknowledge that the collapse and breakup of the historic Russian/Soviet empires is not yet over, and that the breaking-up process needs to continue a little longer to achieve a workable equilibrium for the people who live there. Both the philosophy and the mechanics of dividing Ukraine without warfare will be troublesome. A Western Ukraine, possibly even resurrecting the old names like Ruthenia and Galicia, will naturally seek its home among the West. At a minimum, we could hope for a “velvet divorce” of Western Ukraine, like the amicable breakup between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This alone might solve some problems and reduce the pressure considerably. The procedural mechanics are daunting; how does one hold a referendum like this? A national referendum will end up with the present muddle. Regional plebiscites are the answer. Scotland’s example shows that a regional referendum as opposed to a national one isn’t just a notion – it is happening next year in an EU state.

Eastern Ukraine is saddled with industrial infrastructure that mainly sells to Russia, and its population is much more Russian in outlook than anything else. I suspect that Putin’s Russia really wants this land, and it probably is not worth a war to prevent that. Such realignments are not completely out of consideration in modern times; the Moldova-Romania situation proved that. Crimea has never had strong ties either to Ukraine or Kiev. One could argue that Odessa would be too small to survive on its own, but we should remember that the Odessa region actually has a population larger than Slovenia, Estonia, Kosovo, Malta, or Montenegro.

But all of this salami-slicing is around the edges. War, if it comes, will be over the middle. Kiev figures prominently in both Ukrainian and Russian psyches. Russians often consider Kiev the cradle of Russian civilization, and certainly the birthplace of Russian Christianity. But Ukrainian and Russian identities have diverged in the last millennium; can Ukrainians accept a national identity without Kiev? For most of history, the Tsarist period and the Soviet period, a Russo-centric view prevailed. Is Kiev another Jerusalem, destined to be the cause of angst and division for centuries? It will take the wisdom of Solomon to figure out how to reconcile the two viewpoints. Perhaps the least bad option is to reduce the current muddle to the middle, with a reduced central Ukraine bridging the gap between East and West.

It is not the cleanest solution, but one better than a war. I’ve been worried about this potential crisis for nearly twenty years now. If I figure it out a better solution, I’ll write another column.

Amnesty International has singled out Belarusian gay-rights activist Ihar Tsikhanyuk, who was seized in hospital and beaten up by police earlier this year, for its annual international letter-writing event Write for Rights. And as the world marks Human Rights Day on December 10, campaigners condemn what they describe as the ruthless repression of gays and lesbians in Belarus.

It's no secret that oil wealth plus autocracy often equals secrecy and corruption, despite international efforts to fight the problem through greater business transparency. A new report on Azerbaijan's oil industry underlines the challenge.

EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia has said that Gazprom has promised to present proposals this week to end a year-long investigation into its business practices and avert a possible fine of as much as $14.3 billion. The EU competition watchdog earlier this year threatened to send formal charges to Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas consumption needs. Bowing to EU pressure, Gazprom’s Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev told Almunia last week that the company was willing to settle the case.

Countries around the world are marking International Human Rights Day. U.N. Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay said the fundamentals for protecting and promoting human rights are largely in place, but the key now is in implementing these standards when the political will and financial resources often are lacking on the ground. She also noted the past 20 years have seen a number of failures to prevent atrocities and safeguard human rights. The United Nations honors five rights defenders...

Russia should join NATO: the benefits for the Global Security are enormous

To reformulate Lord Ismay's phrase: 1) Take Russia in, 2) Continue keeping Germany down, 3) Assert and exercise the US leadership position within the NATO as a unifying and directing force and vector.

"Ловец Человеков"

Connected? The halo is there. And the Book is there. And the disciples are there. But where is the Light of Understanding, in this big curved dark tunnel of a vision? Where is the big red dot? Where is the new beginning?

Russia and US Presidential Elections of 2016 - Google News

Russia international behavior - Google News

RUSSIA and THE WEST

russia ukraine - Google News

West, Russia, Putin

US - Russia relations - Google News

Hillary Clinton and rock group Pussy Riot

"Great to meet the strong & brave young women from #PussyRiot, who refuse to let their voices be silenced in #Russia. 1:09 PM - 4 Apr 2014" - Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton tweeted a picture Friday of her posing with members of the anti-Vladimir Putin punk rock group Pussy Riot. Clinton met with the women during the "Women in the World Summit" in New York. The group has emerged as chief opponents of Putin, and three members were jailed in 2012 after an anti-Putin performance at a church. The tweet has been re-tweeted almost 10,000 times.